Initial findings from the Ethiopian Airlines crash are that faulty readings from the plane's angle-of-attack sensor caused the anti-stall system, known as MCAS, to automatically push the plane's nose down.

"We now know that the recent Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents were caused by a chain of events, with a common chain link being erroneous activation of the aircraft's MCAS function," the company's statement said.